2009: Year in video games

By MITCH KRPATA | December 22, 2009

1. Borderlands (2K Games)
Borderlands (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC) is a messy smorgasbord of a game. It has the furious run-and-gun action of Halo, the level grinding and looting of World of Warcraft, and the hilarious vehicular shenanigans of Grand Theft Auto. Yet it forges an identity all its own, thanks in no small part to its emphasis on the cooperative multi-player experience. As you build up your character's abilities, you'll find that what seems useless in single-player becomes indispensable in co-op — especially the ability to fire healing bullets at your allies. With millions of possible randomly generated weapons to discover, opening a gun crate feels like scratching off a lottery ticket. This game is cracked genius.

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